Top stories

• BlockFi and Voyager with new plans to liquidate parts of their businesses

• Celsius moving hundreds of millions of dollars worth of ETH

• SEC pushes back on Coinbase's demand for crypto rules in the U.S.

BlockFi's failed attempt to sell off its lending business is now resulting in an attempt to liquidate the business and distribute funds to creditors. The company emphasized that selling the business might not generate meaningful value for creditors. BlockFi, among others, filed for bankruptcy protection in November last year after FTX collapsed.

Voyager, another bankrupt crypto company, has also struggled to find a bailout, and the Court has now approved its liquidation plan, which reportedly will result in payouts of $1.33 billion, or about 35% of creditors' claims. 

Celsius is also in the news for similar reasons this week, as the company is withdrawing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of ether (ETH) amid its ongoing bankruptcy and restructuring process. The news broke after Celsius moved nearly $800 million worth of staked ether (stETH) and initiated withdrawal requests on Lido Finance.

The SEC has asked the Court to deny Coinbase's demand for crypto rules in the U.S. The response came after Coinbase filed a court action in April, seeking the Court to compel the regulator into responding to its request for specific rulemaking on crypto assets. The SEC disagrees with the obligation and says that defining crypto rules is a "necessary complicated endeavor", suggesting that it would be a long, drawn-out process. 

Other News

• Fleeing U.S. Crypto Firms ‘Welcome,’ French Regulator Says

• EU’s MiCA Inches Towards Law With Finance Ministers’ Sign-Off 

• UK Treasury Committee says retail crypto trading should be regulated as gambling

• Tether to invest up to 15% of its profits in bitcoin 

• Ripple splashes $250 million on Metaco acquisition 

• Peter Thiel Backs Bitcoin Startup River in $35M Round 

• QuadrigaCX Creditors to Receive 13% of Claims 

• Terra Founder Do Kwon Released on Bail 

With that, we wish you a great weekend!

From our Analysts

What if you bought all the top 10 cryptos in January 2018?

In late 2017, Bitcoin became widely renowned through the ferocious rally peaking at close to $20,000 shortly before Christmas. In a second wave lasting into early 2018, altcoins spearheaded by XRP and Ethereum rocketed while Bitcoin started dropping off. In this article, we explore the returns on the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap in early January 2018. Even though many of the coins are still in the top 50, it would not have been wise to buy most of them...

Read the full article here.

Weekend Reading

Galaxy Research: Watch this Space

A new Galaxy report that covers essential topics including what's next for Bitcoin and Ethereum, what to watch in DeFi and Web3, the regulatory landscape, and more.